Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History | Erik Larson

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History | Erik Larson | View from a Galvestonian

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Isaac's Storm: A M...

	Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History Erik Larson Vintage, 2000 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 259 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Another incedible non-fiction book from Erik Larsen

This was written several years before Hurricane Katrina. His talent of weaving the real characters into his non-fiction story telling is amazing. This is the story of the early history of the National Weather Service and the attempts to predict hurricanes on the coasts. Fascinating! Erik Larsen is one of my favorite authors.

View from a Galvestonian

Being a BOI (born on the island), I had to read this book! I was amazed at the story and, frankly, it gave me chills. There's so much to take in but you have to go back to that moment in time to understand how this great hurricane was able to devastate an island and kill so many. The simple fact of not having telephones to communicate with the mainland made one helluva difference, as was brought home to us all recently by the tidal waves which hit the islands off New Zealand. Galveston now has a 17 foot seawall but even that isn't high enough when a hurricane comes around. The last "big one" was Carla in 1962. Before leaving the island, my Uncle took me to the seawall to view the Gulf of Mexico at her fury. I will never forget seeing the water lapping over those 17 feet of seawall and that image made "Isaac's Storm" all too real to me! If you really want to understand hurricanes, read this book!

10/20/08 - As an addendum to my review, I'd like to add that Hurricane Ike made a dead center hit on Galveston last month. That same seawall I spoke of was, once again, overtopped by the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the most dire warning ever by the US Weather Service, "certain death" if you stayed on the island, people stayed & lost their lives. After "Issac's Storm" & the lack of communication then and the total inundation of communication now, it is unfathomable to think anyone would risk their lives today. The old adage re not listening to history makes us damned to repeat it could not be more true! Read "Issac's Storm" and see the parallels with Hurricane Ike. They are chilling!

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man vs nature..

Nature sure won this battle..in an engrossing, almost impossible book to put down..Eric Larsen looks at the Galveston hurricane of 1900. The research is phenomenal and the storytelling is exquisite! Isaac Cline the meteroligist assigned to Galveston who has a foreboding of something bad coming as the barometer drops but he doesn't have the tools(before doppler radar folks!) or expertise to predict the hurricane. The man still comes out as a hero saving so many as Galveston is devastated by the storm. Gripping!

A worthwhile read.

There is much in this nonfictional account to commend it. Mr. Larson is apparently and convincingly assiduous in documenting the smallest details, which give macabre fascination to this horrific and informative description of the turn-of-the-century hurricane that devastated Galvestone. I found the descriptions of the meteorology just a little bit tough going, but I attribute that more to my lack of affinity for the material than to the author's inability to explain with pristine clarity the underlying science. The human tragedeies are poignant and arresting. Somehow I felt myself being drawn to these very real characters who loved and died over a hundred years ago. Mr. Larson has the ability to make what is historical au currant and humanizing. I also quite like the smaller stories that he weaves into the larger narrative (e.g., the discussion of the rivalry between Cuban and American meteorologists which was largely responsible for inadequate warning that would have most certainly saved hundreds if not thousands of lives). I also highly recommend--even more so, actually--Mr. Larson's Devil in the White City. Now THAT is a truly harrowing and fascinating true crime mystery. I am hopeful that Mr. Larson turns his attention to writing about Katrina, as that might very well eventuate in a magnum opus not only compelling in its interest but meaningfully informative in preparing us to stave off the worst of similar disasters yet to come.

--Bill T-M.

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Erik Larson takes you back to 1900!

I couldn't put this book down. I felt like I was experiencing the hurricane myself. I enjoyed learning this piece of history and became more educated about weather and the weather service in the process. Especially after Katrina's effect on our nation - this is a must read for everyone.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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